2008-09 Schedule Features Seven Game Home Stand to Open Season
April 30, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Pensacola Ice Pilots News Release
PENSACOLA, FL - The Pensacola Ice Pilots in conjunction with the ECHL have announced the playing schedule for the 72 game 2008-09 regular season. The Ice Pilots will open the season on Friday, October 17 at the Hangar vs. the rival Mississippi Sea Wolves. This will be the first of 12 meetings between the Gulf Coast foes this season.
This game begins a season opening seven game home stand for the Ice Pilots. Pensacola will take to the ice twice the following weekend on October 24 and 25 against the South Carolina Stingrays. After, the Augusta Lynx invade the Hangar on Halloween Night, October 31 and November 1 for a two game set. To conclude the home stand will be the first of three north division opponents the Ice Pilots will see at the Hangar this season. The Wheeling Nailers comes in for two midweek games on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 6.
After the home cookin', the Ice Pilots travel through the South Division for a seven game journey beginning in Southwest Florida against the Everblades. The Ice Pilots will conclude their home schedule with games on March 24 and 25 against the Stingrays before heading on the road for four contests to finish the 2008-09 regular season.
The Ice Pilots enjoy an eight game home stand from January 16th to the 31st. The Brabham Cup Champion Cincinnati Cyclones visit the Hangar for the first time in history on Saturday, February 7th. The Johnstown Chiefs who helped start the ECHL 20 years ago will be in Pensacola for a game on Tuesday, February 24. In return, Pensacola will have a four game trek through the North Division from January 7th to the 11th, facing off against Cincinnati, Wheeling and the Dayton Bombers.
The Pilots take to the ice against ten different opponents this season: Mississippi 12 times (6 home, 6 away), Florida 11 (5 home, 6 away), South Carolina 11 (6 home, 5 away), Gwinnett, Charlotte and Augusta 10 times (5 home, 5 away), Wheeling 4 (2 home, 2 away), Cincinnati 2 (1 home, 1 away), Johnstown (1 home) and Dayton (1 away).
The full 2008-09 schedule is attached and listed below. Start times will be announced later.
2008-09 Season Tickets are currently on sale. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call (850) 432-PUCK, or visit the Ice Pilots web site at www.icepilots.com.
Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Nineteen of the 24 teams have played at least five years in their current city.
The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans.
The Premier 'AA' Hockey League welcomed 3,756,191 fans, marking the fifth straight season and the 11th time in the last 12 years that it has exceeded 3.75 million fans. The 51 sold out crowds are the most in the last five seasons and mark the fourth time in the last five years that the ECHL has had at least 40 sellouts.
The conference and division alignments and the format for the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be determined and approved at a later date by the ECHL Board of Governors.
The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
There have been 355 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 99 in the last three seasons. There have been 210 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven seasons.
There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.
The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.
The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.
In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players. In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.
Friday, October 17, 2008 Mississippi at Pensacola
Friday, October 24, 2008 South Carolina at Pensacola
Saturday, October 25, 2008 South Carolina at Pensacola
Friday, October 31, 2008 Augusta at Pensacola
Saturday, November 01, 2008 Augusta at Pensacola
Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Wheeling at Pensacola
Thursday, November 06, 2008 Wheeling at Pensacola
Friday, November 07, 2008 Pensacola at Florida
Saturday, November 08, 2008 Pensacola at Florida
Friday, November 14, 2008 Pensacola at Charlotte
Saturday, November 15, 2008 Pensacola at Gwinnett
Sunday, November 16, 2008 Pensacola at Mississippi
Friday, November 21, 2008 Pensacola at Charlotte
Saturday, November 22, 2008 Pensacola at Gwinnett
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 Mississippi at Pensacola
Thursday, November 27, 2008 Pensacola at Mississippi
Friday, November 28, 2008 Gwinnett at Pensacola
Saturday, November 29, 2008 Gwinnett at Pensacola
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 Pensacola at So. Carolina
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 Pensacola at Charlotte
Thursday, December 04, 2008 Pensacola at So. Carolina
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Mississippi at Pensacola
Friday, December 12, 2008 Augusta at Pensacola
Friday, December 19, 2008 Pensacola at Florida
Saturday, December 20, 2008 Pensacola at Florida
Saturday, December 27, 2008 Florida at Pensacola
Sunday, December 28, 2008 Florida at Pensacola
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Pensacola at Augusta
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Pensacola at Augusta
Friday, January 02, 2009 South Carolina at Pensacola
Saturday, January 03, 2009 South Carolina at Pensacola
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 Pensacola at Cincinnati
Friday, January 09, 2009 Pensacola at Wheeling
Saturday, January 10, 2009 Pensacola at Dayton
Sunday, January 11, 2009 Pensacola at Wheeling
Friday, January 16, 2009 Charlotte at Pensacola
Saturday, January 17, 2009 Charlotte at Pensacola
Sunday, January 18, 2009 Charlotte at Pensacola
Monday, January 26, 2009 Charlotte at Pensacola
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Charlotte at Pensacola
Thursday, January 29, 2009 Florida at Pensacola
Friday, January 30, 2009 Florida at Pensacola
Saturday, January 31, 2009 Florida at Pensacola
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 Pensacola at Mississippi
Friday, February 06, 2009 Gwinnett at Pensacola
Saturday, February 07, 2009 Cincinnati at Pensacola
Friday, February 13, 2009 Pensacola at Augusta
Saturday, February 14, 2009 Pensacola at So. Carolina
Sunday, February 15, 2009 Pensacola at So. Carolina
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 Mississippi at Pensacola
Thursday, February 19, 2009 Gwinnett at Pensacola
Friday, February 20, 2009 Pensacola at Mississippi
Saturday, February 21, 2009 Pensacola at Mississippi
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Johnstown at Pensacola
Friday, February 27, 2009 Pensacola at Gwinnett
Saturday, February 28, 2009 Gwinnett at Pensacola
Friday, March 06, 2009 Pensacola at Gwinnett
Saturday, March 07, 2009 Pensacola at Charlotte
Sunday, March 08, 2009 Pensacola at So. Carolina
Friday, March 13, 2009 Augusta at Pensacola
Saturday, March 14, 2009 Augusta at Pensacola
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Pensacola at Florida
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Pensacola at Florida
Friday, March 20, 2009 Mississippi at Pensacola
Saturday, March 21, 2009 Pensacola at Mississippi
Sunday, March 22, 2009 Mississippi at Pensacola
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 South Carolina at Pensacola
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 South Carolina at Pensacola
Friday, March 27, 2009 Pensacola at Charlotte
Saturday, March 28, 2009 Pensacola at Gwinnett
Friday, April 03, 2009 Pensacola at Augusta
Saturday, April 04, 2009 Pensacola at Augusta
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